The Amazing Animal Alphabet Book - Hardcover

PreSchool-K One simply cannot compare The Amazing Animal Alphabet Book with the artistic sophistication of Leonard Baskin's Hosie's Alphabet (Viking, 1972; o.p.), the elegant clarity and design of Bruno Munari's ABC (Philomel, 1960; o.p.), the delicate whimsy of Anno's Alphabet (Crowell, 1974), or even the creative and mysterious violence of Van Allsburg's The Z Was Zapped (Houghton, 1987). A collection of 26 full-page mixed-media paintings of animals captioned with alliterative phrases, The Amazing Animal Alphabet Book fails to fulfill the basic desiderata for a children's ABC book: to facilitate the mastery of the alphabet, to reinforce word/sound recognition, and to promote association between key words and visual images. Alphabet books intended for use with preschoolers, as this one is, must have concepts and images that are concrete and new vocabulary clearly associated with a picture. ``Anteater anticipating August'' is an abstract, future-oriented phrase that could only confuse children. Several images are tasteless (two lions licking their chops as a lamb cowers), while many are suggestive (``Orangutan ogling an overweight ostrich,'' a gorilla squeezing herself into a tight pink girdle). Children deserve better than the tasteless humor, garish colors, and offensive anthropomorphism of this book. Pamela Miller Ness, The Fenn School, Concord, Mass.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Alliteration and animals abound in this alphabet book. An iguana, yak and orangutanengaged in such activities as indulging in ice creamcavort across the pages, along with a quail (quarreling with the queen), an X-ray fish and a mole. But, while the text is rousingly funny, the illustrations are very sophisticated. The book derives its humor from the juxtaposition of zany verse and intentionally serious, painterly pictures. This is a highly unusual presentation of alphabet fare, similar to Alligator Arrived with Apples by Crescent Dragonwagon and other alliterative ABCs. Ages 3-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.